Murder detectives praised for work
Award for police after ‘tireless investigation’
Detectives who unravelled the truth surrounding the violent murder of a Maidstone pensioner have been commended for their work.
The decomposing body of John Birney was found tied to a chair in his Rocky Hill Terrace flat last June. He had been stabbed 10 times, including in the eye and the back of the head.
Three people were soon arrested and Allison Tomlin, 50, who had been living with vulnerable Mr Birney, was charged with murder.
John Barham, 27, formerly of Quarry Road, and a second woman were released without charge.
But Barham started bragging, apparently boasting he had stabbed someone in the eye and confessing he had murdered a man who had touched his girlfriend, Alina Korosteliova, vowing: “No one touches my bird.”
The former bodybuilder, who has a string of convictions for extreme violence, was later charged with murder.
The pair’s trial was complicated by a lack of evidence they had acted together and the fact there was no definitive cause of death, but eventually both were convicted and jailed for life.
DC Geoff McCreery and investigating officer Donna MenciaKenny were praised by the judge.
The pair picked up an award for their tireless investigation at the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate awards ceremony held earlier this month.
DC Karen Mulroy, DS Steve Payne and DC Philip Kershaw were also honoured for their work in cracking a human trafficking ring.
The officers painstakingly investigated the exploitation of Slovakian people who had been trafficked into the country by Marian Dzuga, 38, from Gilling- ham, and his brother Josef, 37, from Chatham, between December 2004 and November 2013.
The brothers arranged for accommodation and employment but controlled their identity documents and bank cards and only passed on a small proportion of their wages.
In May they were jailed for six years and were given the first Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Order to be served in Kent.